What these facilities including Topgolf and FGI courses are doing for Women’s Golf Day

Getting more women involved in the game has been a point of emphasis for leaders in the golf industry in recent years, and the creation of Women’s Golf Day in 2016 was born out of that idea.

It is a collaborative effort by golf management companies, retailers and organizations to engage, empower and support girls and women through golf.

A few golf facilities on the Grand Strand are participating in the fourth Women’s Golf Day on June 4 with clinics, golf and social hours. Registration is requested at each site.

Four Founders Group facilities have events.

Wild Wing Plantation will be hosting a 15-minute introduction to the game clinic at 10 a.m. followed by a nine-hole event on the Hummingbird Course and post-round social meet and greet. The event is $15. Players can register by calling 843-347-9464 or emailing broc.wilson@foundersgolf.com.

Aberbeen Country Club will be hosting a Nine & Wine event that includes a 45-minute clinic at 11 a.m. followed by golf and a wine, cheese and fruit social at the conclusion of play. The event is $40 and players must register by Friday by calling 843-399-2660.

Myrtlewood Golf Club has a 30-minute clinic led by former touring professional Yoshio Yamamoto beginning at 11:30 a.m. followed by nine holes on the PineHills Course with tee times beginning at 12:20 p.m. The event will conclude with an hour of hors d’oeuvres and pro shop sales. It costs $40 and registration by May 28 can be done by emailing Dustin Powers at dustin.powers@foundersgolf.com or calling 843-913-4516.

Tradition Club will host an 18-hole captain’s choice event at 9 a.m. for female members of FGI’s Honors Club. The event will include a welcome gift and post-round lunch.

There will be a pair of clinics and social hours between 4-8 p.m. at the PGA Tour Superstore location in Myrtle Beach. A one-hour clinic at 4 p.m. on putting and full swing fundamentals will be followed by an hour of social activities with snacks, drinks, networking and contests. The clinic and social repeat at 6 and 7 p.m. Call the store at 843-839-4653 or email jchumus@pgatss.com.

A one-hour event at Topgolf will take place from 6:30-7:30 p.m. and feature a 10-minute warmup and review of the basic fundamentals of grip, stance and posture, 40 minutes of working in two-person teams at drill stations, and a 10-minute introduction to Topgolf competitive games. Call Topgolf at 843-945-3318.

More information is available at womensgolfday.com

Tournaments are coming

The Grand Strand is hosting a few of the top pro and amateur events in the Carolinas this year.

The Grande Dunes Resort Course will host the best club professionals in the Carolinas when it holds the Carolinas PGA Section’s South Carolina Open from July 8-11.

The 54-hole stroke play tournament is a CPGA major. The Roger Rulewich design can provide a major test in part because it can stretch to more than 7,500 yards, and it has four holes that play along the Intracoastal Waterway.

Tournament events begin with a pro-am on July 8 featuring a “shamble” format, and three amateurs will be paired with a PGA pro.

The tournament will raise money for PGA Reach Carolinas, an initiative that benefits the lives of children, military veterans and diverse populations in the Carolinas through golf.

Grande Dunes co-hosted the PGA Club Professional National Championship in 2014, and it has hosted numerous CPGA tournaments, including the 2015 Section Championship.

The CPGA’s Assistant PGA Professional Championship will be held at the Surf Golf and Beach Club from Aug. 26-27. The tournament will serve as a qualifier for the PGA’s national 43rd National Car Rental Assistant PGA Professional Championship from Nov. 14-17 at PGA Golf Club’s Wannamaker Course in Port St. Lucie, Fla. There will be six spots and four alternate spots available.

South Carolina Golf Association events in the area include the 25th Mid-Amateur Four-Ball Championship from Aug. 17-18 at The Dunes Golf and Beach Club, and the 24th Tournament of Champions in January 2020 at TPC Myrtle Beach for SCGA winners from 2019.

The Reserve Club in Pawleys Island hosted SCGA’s Palmetto Cup matches in March, which pit some of S.C.’s top club pros against the state’s top amateurs, and the Carolinas Golf Association’s 39th Carolinas Mid-Amateur in April.

Close calls

A pair of Myrtle Beach teens finished in the top four in one of the top junior tournaments in South Carolina on Sunday.

Keegan Vaugh tied for second and Carlos Garre finished fourth in the seventh Creed Boys’ Invitational at Camden Country Club.

Vaugh, a rising senior at Myrtle Beach High, shot an even-par 70 in the final round to tie Alex Heffner of Harrisburg, N.C., at 1-over 141, which was three shots behind champion Zachary Reuland of Rock Hill.

Garre began the final round tied for the lead at 1-under 69 and grabbed the outright lead with birdies on holes 3 and 5 but was unable to hold it, shooting a 73 for a 2-over 142 total.

The Creed was Garre’s last junior tournament, and he will be joining the Wofford College men’s golf team in the fall.

This story was originally published May 28, 2019 at 5:12 AM.